102 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



they are moved into boxes of the same material and set about one 

 inch apart and kept in the same house until July. After that they 

 go into a cooler house and are well aired and slightly shaded until 

 the middle of September. Then they are exposed to harden until 

 frosty weather and after that housed in frost-proof quarters 

 for the winter, although a little frost would do them no harm. 



Gardeners are often asked a question like this, " I have a Begonia. 

 How often shall I water it?" Frankly, that question without the 

 plant at hand is impossible to answer. I usually say "When the 

 plant is dry" which to the inquirer is no answer at all. To most 

 people it would mean when the plant is dust dry and sometimes 

 that would be all right for a Geranium, a Tuberous Rooted Begonia, 

 or a Gloxinia going to rest. 



To know when seed boxes want water is just as hard to tell. 

 There is a good deal of intuition in this as in much other garden 

 work. It is not always necessary to look at the surface of the 

 soil; it is one indication, but may be a false one. If one has 

 cared for a lot of seed boxes from the beginning and knows the 

 condition it might be said consistency of the soil, the kind of atmos- 

 phere, bright or shaded, will indicate to him how often seeds want 

 water, independent of surface conditions. Sometimes a finger 

 pressed into the soil or the weight of the box will indicate that. 



Small seeds, as has been shown, are barely covered and some- 

 times not at all. In such cases the surface must be kept moist. 

 To let it dry for a day or bright sunshine strike it for an hour 

 would be fatal for the seedlings. 



Spores. 



The spore method belongs to Ferns. Their reproductive 

 method is entirely different from that of flowering plants. Spores 

 are found generally on the back of the leaves, sometimes on special 

 leaves or fronds as they are called. Falling on the ground or any 

 suitably moist place they form a kidney-shaped patch of green 

 like a small leaf from which is developed a new plant. 



